Hollow-tile arch.



P. H. BEVIER. HOLLOW TILE ARCH,

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 21, 1911.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAIH 60.. WASHINGTON. n. c

TTNTTED %TATE% PATENT QFFTQEQ PHILIP H. BEVIER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y

HOLLOW-TILE ARCIL To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, Pnimr H. Bnvmn, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful HollowTile Arch, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a hollow tile arch having single slabs intermediate the tiles or blocks so as to close the openings in said tiles and to act as compression members of the arch. The slabs are smaller in size than the ends of the tiles, whereby a groove or recess is formed intermediate of the tiles and on the top and the two sides thereof,for the reception of cement or concrete The grooves or recesses at the respective sides of adjacent rows of the tiles communicate with longitudinal spaces between said rows, which longitudinal spaces are filled with concrete, the latter forming concrete ribs between the rows of tiles. The grooves or spaces between the individual tiles of the rows, in communication with the longitudinal spaces between the rows, operate to substantially increase the width, at regular intervals, of the longitudinal spaces, and when the grooves and the spaces are filled with concrete, the width of the concrete ribs in the spaces are increased by the material in the grooves, thus resulting in a substantial increase, at predetermined intervals, in the width of the concrete ribs, and securing increased strength and weight carrying capacity of the ribs and the arch.

Features of the invention other than those mentioned will appear from the annexed detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated difierent practical embodiments of the invention, but the constructions shown therein are tobe understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section, partly in elevation, of a tile arch embodying this invention, showing the tiles in operative position relative to adjacent steel girders and with a layer or filling of concrete between certain of the tiles to produce a key. Fig. 2 is a plan view of an arch constructed in accordance with this invention illustrating adj acent rows of tiles, the filling being omitted. Fig. 3 is a perspective View illustrating two tiles of the arch and slabs positioned between the adjacent tiles, one of said slabs be- Specifieation of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 21, 19-11.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

Serial No. 634,469.

ing fitted to an end face of the tile for the purpose of closing the chambers or cells therein and to produce a groove around the top and two sides of the tiles. Fig. 4 is a section at right angles to Fig. 1 illustrating three tiles, slabs for closing the ends thereof, and a concrete filling in which is embedded a metal tension member.

A designates a terra cotta tile or block, rows of which are positioned between parallel girders B to produce a flat arch inaccordance with the present invention. Each tile or block is constructed with longitudinal webs a, which produce longitudinal cham bers or cells a, the tile or block being of the type known in the art as a cellular tile. The blocks for each row are positioned end to end so as to extend in a series from one beam orgirder B to the other beam or girder B, and as shown in Fig. 3, any desired number of rows of tiles A are employed to produce an arch of the desired length. As

shown, the end blocks of each row rest upon foot blocks Z) provided on the base flanges of the girders, but the detailed form of the foot blocks, and other features of the arch, are

similar to those ordinarily employed in structures of this type, so that no extended description of the minor features is considered necessary.

A salient feature of this invention consists of slabs C positioned intermediate the ends of adjacent tiles in each row, substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the position of one slab being indicated in Fig. 3. Each slab is composed of tile, that is to say, it is a fiat substantially oblong piece of clay burned in a kiln to secure the requisite strength and hardness. The contour of the flat slab corresponds substantially to the contour of the end of the tile, but the slab is smaller in dimensions than the end dimension of the tile, that is to say, the height and width of the slab is less than the height and width of the end of the tile. These slabs are positioned singly between the end faces of two adja cent tiles, each slab being in direct contact with the walls and webs of two tiles. Accordingly, the walls and webs of two tiles abut directly against the respective faces of one slab interposed between the two tiles, and by this construction I am enabled to secure the full compressive strength of the tiles or blocks composing the row in the arch.

It is desired to state that in the manufacture of hollon tiles, difliculty is always experienced in securing tiles the ends of the walls and webs of which are uniform. The operation of running the clay through the dies of the tile machine, and of subsequently baking the tiles in a kiln, for the purpose of hardening said tiles by a burning or baking operation, causes more or less irregularity in the contour of the tiles at their respective ends, the webs and walls of the tiles being characterized by such a contour as results in high points. l/Vhen assembling the tiles in rows, as practised ordinarily in the art, they are assembled so that the end faces are in contact, but owing to the irregularity and the high points at the ends of the tiles, it has been very diflicult to utilize the full compressive strength of the tiles in the rows, except when mortar or cement is applied by hand to the end faces of the tiles during the operation of laying the tiles in rows. My invention overcomes this objection, and to a marked degree, for the reason that the slabs are in contact with the walls and webs thereof so as to result in a firm bearing or engagement of the tiles with the slabs, and the tiles and slabs may be set in a dry condition, to be afterward united with the cement which is poured or otherwise filled in the spaces provided between the tiles and the rows.

As just stated, the tiles and the slabs are set in a dry condition, and without the employment of skilled labor, a suitable centering or scaffold being positioned below the beams, for the purpose of supporting the tiles and slabs. The operation of assembling the tiles in rows, and of placing the slabs in position between the individual tiles of each row, results, first, in the formation of longitudinal spaces f between the adjacent rows of tiles, and, second, in the formation of grooves, or recesses 0 between the end portions of adjacent tiles, said grooves extending across the top and at the sides of said tiles, substantially as indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. After the tiles and slabs have been set in the manner described, a suitable filling or bonding material, usually semi-liquid or plastic cement, is deposited in the spaces 0, f. This bonding material fillsthe spaces f between the rows of tiles, and it flows around the slabs C and between certain parts of the end faces of tiles A, so that the material, when hardened, will form a bond or union between the tiles and the, slabs, whereby said tiles and slabs are united into a solid homogeneous structure. The concrete in the spaces 7 produces concrete ribsbetween the rows of tiles, said ribs acting as compression members. The concrete in the grooves or recesses 0 joins or is integral with the concrete of the ribs, so that the width of the ribs is increased, at regular intervals, by the concrete occupying the grooves, or recesses, the result of which is to increase the quantity of concrete material in the ribs, with a proportionate increasein the strength and weight carrying capacity of the arch. In comparatively narrow arches, the concrete material fills the spaces a, f, only between the tiles and the rows of tiles, no concrete being deposited upon the tops of the tiles; but in wider arches, a layer of concrete is deposited upon the tops of the tiles, thetop layer of concrete being integral with the concrete ribs between the rows, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the resulting arch is composed of concrete, the tile blocks and the slabs.

In setting the tiles of ordinary arches, it is customary to employ a key block at the middle of each row of tiles, for the purpose of tightening the tiles of the row, before the bonding material is applied. In my invention the key block is' omitted, for the reason that considerable difficulty is encountered, on many occasions, in setting the key block into position. This is due to the. irregular length of the tiles, and when such tiles are assembled, the space at the middle of the row is so narrow that the key block cannot be inserted, as a result of which ditficulty,

much time and labor is wasted insearching for a key blockto fit properly at the middle of the row. These objections are overcome by the employment of two slabs, E, F which are positioned at the middle of the row, in the space between the'two middle blocks. The slabs are in contact with the respective end faces of the two middle blocks, said slabs being spaced, preferably in inclined )ositions as shown in Fi s. 1 and 2 so as to produce a tapering space (Z between the slabs E, F. The slabs E, F are of less size than the end faces of the blocks, and recesses or grooves are thus provided at the'top and two side edges of the slabs. hen the bonding material is spread upon the tiles, some of the material flows into the spaces a between the tiles, as heretofore described, and other portions of thebonding material flows into the space (Z between the middle slabs E, F,

. whereby the bonding material fills the spaces between the individual tiles of the row and,

I also, between slabs E, F, so as to result in the union of the slabs and tiles int-o the solid structure. The middle slabs and the bond ing material replace the ordinary tile key block, and some of the bonding material,

unites the slabs to the end faces of the two middle tiles. I

As, shown and heretofore described, the

tiles in one row are s aced relative to the ad'-- p acent rows of tiles on opposite sides thereof,

thus producing the longitudinal spaces f be tween the rows. These spaces f are filled with concrete material when the same is do posited in the spaces f and grooves 0, or is spread over the tiles, as heretofore described, for the purpose of filling the grooves or recesses 0 and the spaces, (Z, the

bonding material flowing, also, into the spaces f. Of course, the bonding material may fill only the spaces 0, (Z, J, and it may, also, be spread upon the tiles of the rows to any desired depth, thus producing a concrete arch with ribs between the rows of hollow tile blocks.

My invention may be embodied in arches wherein concrete is employed in the form of ribs positioned only between the rows of hollow tile blocks, there being no concrete material upon the tops of the tile blocks, as shown in Fig. 1, but said invention is capable of use, also, in connection with concrete arches wherein the concrete is spread to a desired thickness upon the tiles or blocks, the latter being employed as the filler material for the purpose of reducing the weight of the arch.

The tiles or blocks A, shown in Fig. 4:, are provided at the sides with flanges w, and when the tiles or blocks are assembled in rows, the flanges a: meet at the bottom of the arch, thus producing wide spaces X between the rows of tiles. These spaces X between the rows of tiles are closed at the bottom of the arch by the flanges 00, and in the spaces X are positioned metal reinforcements Z, the same extending lengthwise of the arch and serving as tension members therefor. When the tiles or blocks are installed in rows, the slabs C are positioned against the end faces of the tiles, for the purpose of closing the chambers or cells thereof and to produce the recesses or grooves at the sides and top of the row of tiles. The concrete material is deposited in the spaces between, and upon the top of, the rows of tiles, for the purpose of filling the spaces at the edges of the slabs C and the spaces between the rows of tiles, and forming a concrete layer on the tops of the tiles, as shown in Fig. 4, whereby the tiles are united into a solid structure with the concrete material, and the metal reinforcements Z are embedded in the concrete ribs produced by the fillings between the rows of tiles.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it is apparent that the tiles and the slabs may be easily and quickly set in a dry condition, upon a suitable scaffold, flooring or centering. The tiles and the slabs rest upon the flooring or centering so as to be supported thereby, prior to the operation of depositing the cement or the bonding material .between and upon the tiles.

It is evident that the tiles and the slabs may be set by unskilled labor, and the bond ing material supplied to the arch by ordinary workmen, the installation of the tiles and slabs and the supply of concrete material being performed expeditiously and economically. The employment of the slabs between the tiles secures a firm bearing of the tiles against the slabs, thus utilizing the full compressive strength of the tiles, and the employment of the bonding material unites all the parts of the structure into a solid mass.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A tile arch comprising a row of hollow tiles provided with webs, single imperforate slabs each positioned between two adjacent tiles and contacting with the end faces and webs thereof, each single slab closing the cells or chambers in the two tiles with which it is in contact and the height and width of each single slab being less than that of the tiles with which said slab contacts, thereby producing between the tiles a groove across the top and at the sides of the tiles, two key slabs positioned in downwardly converging relation to each other and between the middle tiles of the arch, said key slabs being spaced relative to each other and each contacting with an end face of one tile, and bonding material filling the tapering space between the key slabs and the grooves between the tiles produced by the single slabs.

2. In a tile arch, the combination with hollow tiles provided with interior webs, of imperforate slabs, the height and width of which is less than the end dimensions of each hollow tile, a single slab being positioned between the adjacent end faces of. two adjoining tiles and said slab contacting with the end faces and the webs of said two tiles for closing the spaces in said tiles against the admission of mortar, the side and top edges of the slab being within the side and top surfaces of the tiles and producing a recess or space which extends continuously across the top and down both sides of the tiles, and the bottom edge of each single slab being flush with the bottom surfaces of the tiles with which said slab contacts, and a bonding material filling the aforesaid recess or space.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PHILIP II. BEVIER.

Witnesses:

H. I. BERNHARD, J. F. MOTHERSI-IEAD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'll-tents.

Washington, D. G." 

